I'm not sure how, but I was somehow able to convince Reese that Ryder and I needed to go to South Africa to spend time with my family. We had a passport for the Princey so all we needed was some plane tickets. So a month before, I bought tickets and only let my Aunty Sandie and cousin Kirsten know that I was coming. Getting ready to go was so fun, especially since it was a surprise and I only had a few short weeks to get everything sorted and packed. My bags were filled to capacity with too many clothes (as usual) and of course taco seasoning, reese's peanut butter cups, cookie butter, lime tortilla chips, etc... you know, normal stuff!
The week we were supposed to leave, Ryder got bronchiolitis (thank you ear infection). So we spent a good amount of time going back and forth between our house and the doctors office to make sure he was ok to fly and not contagious. We got a nebuliser, pump, and drugs and were set to go. With the help of my cousin Joanna and google ("entertaining your toddler on a plane") I filled his infamous giraffe with a lot of weird stuff (painters tape, anyone?).
Him being sick landed up being a blessing in disguise. From Phoenix to London our flight landed up being 11 hours. He didn't sleep the whole time but since he wasn't feeling 100% he wasn't acting like his crazy, psychotic self. We also scored with 4 seats to ourselves.... if you've ever flown with children you know how important even one extra seat is. I opted not to bring any electronics to entertain him on the flight because I didn't want him just zoned out on the ipad. Plus I didn't trust myself not to let him stare at it for 11 hours so I could watch whatever was playing on the little airplane tellies. Anyways, once in London we had a fairly short 5 hour layover and killed time by playing in one of the kiddie areas, eating a very expensive breakfast (pounds + airport = $$$$$), and locking ourselves in the mothers room to sponge bath and floss.
From Heathrow to Jo'burg the flight was choc-a-bloc full. There was one one empty seat and guess who was sitting next to it with their lap child?!?! ME! Luck was truly in our favour. Then when the window seat passenger arrived it was like Heaven opened up and angels were singing because the girl sitting there was mid-30's, flying to SA to visit her 2 year old niece (toddler lover), and blind. So she totally didn't mind that Ryder was up in her business 75% of the time. Plus then she couldn't see when he was about to do something naughty or when I needed to nurse him I didn't have to stress about making her feel uncomfortable with my boob. So it was really great. She was coming from Canada and was excited to be making her way back to SA which made the 12 hour flight not seem as long since we were able to chat about all the exciting things that were about to happen.
By the time we got off the flight it had almost been 13 hours of breathing the same recycled air and we were about 22 hours over being on an airplane. So we got all 15 bags (just kidding, I only bought 6 ha ha) and headed to meet Aunty Sandie.
Jo'burg had just had a summer rain storm so walking out of the airport we were greeted with the clean smell of rain and the feeling of humidity. And WARM SUMMER weather! Woo hoo! Perfection!
No one knew I was going to be there, so when I arrived at the Taylors and my gran saw us she just stared. I wish I could have recorded it because the reaction was perfect! When my bestest friend in the whole wide world saw I was there we just both burst out crying! Ah just typing this makes me miss all my family and friends so much!
Now true to blogger form, all my pictures are mixed up. True to Courtney form, I am not going to fix it. And there are a lot of pictures. I hope all my friends and family who read this look at every single one for at least 3 minutes. That is how great they all are. ;)
We live in Arizona. It wasn't really that cold outside. Just rainy. And Ryder is eating his 9-month old cousins puffs. Babies. Whoever is the biggest is in charge. Poor Emlynn!
For the most part, Ryder and his older cousin Amber (2) got a long really well. She is the sweetest. Case and point:
Amber with "princess" hair. Girls are so fun! Ryder never lets me plait his hair...
If a car door was open, Ryder was in the car pushing buttons and pulling blinkers...
Ready for a walk around Benoni.
When potty training, you always have to be prepared!
Just being the coolest kid. Side note... Reese and I over heard a couple talking to another couple (who didn't have a child) about their child for a good 20 minutes. The whole time we were thinking "how annoying" then OH MY GOSH, I hope that's not us! Sometimes when I post the mass amounts of pictures I do of Princey I think to myself "I'm that annoying Mom". Oh well...my house is basically a shrine of him.... let us continue.
Ryder being super shy around the beautiful Holly. We met her one day for lunch. Also I just noticed my nice little arm fat rolling over courtesy of the diaper bag. Great!
Rolling into our crib for the month... I was so happy to be surrounded by so much GREEN!
Sandy from Grease II:
These two...
Danny and Sandy from Greese II. After I took this we all started singing Cool Rider.
A little switching.
Reese loved this pic...
The street my cousins live on. So beautiful and green and quiet. I am still trying to convince Reese to move.
While we were there we were lucky enough to have Ruby take photos of all of us. She managed to get the BEST pictures of the kids in awful toddler behaviour conditions. Seriously.
My little curly-q
My favourite picture of him:
Looking like a little cool dude
Princey and cousin Dallin.
Ryder and Amber.
Ryder watching the fairy princess frolic in the bush.
And then all the cousins decided it was a good idea to run away. Except for Emlynn. Only because she couldn't walk. I love Erin-May's arms... she was a speedy one!
This is accurate:
All the girls with their babies and our wonderful Gran.
Sisters.
Look at Ryder's scowl. Such a little punk!
And this is actually a picture of us in the PHX airport getting ready to embark on our long trip.
There he is running around the terminal with his inhaler, like a good sick little child. Totally normal.
Good thing the airplane tellies are pretty indestructible.
Just some sensible jumping into the tv...
This was about 3 hours into our stay in Benoni. The one and only time he actually slept in a cot.
I just love this little girl!
Oh the goodness you can only find in SA.... (and why my bum grew by the second)
Ryder getting nebulised.
They have this fun run at Ebotse Golf Estates every saturday. Its a 5km and they time you and everything. Aunty Sandie and I went and it was so fun! The two times I did it I managed to do it in just under 30 minutes which is nothing to write home about other than I couldn't breath because of the elevation difference. Mesa, AZ is 378 metres and Benoni, SA is 1,645 metres. So humour me. :)
Red-faced with a passed out Prince.
My gran eating milktart and Ryder riding his motorcycle.
Just look at that face!
He loved playing and wondering around the backyard. I'd say we spent 90% of our time outside which was perfect.
Nebulising and Giggle Bellies to keep him still.
And this is from the airplane on our way to Heathrow. (Can some one tell me why blogger does this weird order of picture thing?) This was the last picture Reese got before we were on different continents.
The tiredest little prince.
And just like that he was awake!
Church time in SA!
Aunty Sandie was his BFF during our time there. She really is the best.
Emlynn and Ryder in Nursery. Ryder is drinking out of Ambers water bottle hoping she wont notice.
She noticed.
3 little monkeys.
The madness that was nursery.
Ryder meeting Thomas. They're basically the same age. His dad and I grew up together. I remember Daniel chasing me around our jungle gym like it was yesterday. Crazy how time flies! Now we both have little boys!
Ryder meeting another friend, Khalon.
He was VERY unsure of Ryder's intentions... I am learning that anytime I see Ryder's hands go up near any child to just say "'hugs" and whatever he was going to do turns into a hug.
My beautiful blue eyed boytjie
One of my dear friends who I hadn't seen almost 8 years happened to be in SA while I was there. It was so good to see her and her sweet little boy for a little bit! Bianca also beautified me. She did a semi-permanent eyelash curl and semi-permanent mascara. The results were AMAZING! I went to bed looking fab and woke up looking ready to go. ;) I have sneaky plans to make us next door neighbours at some point in the future. (Right Binx?)
Nice hey?
Ryder fell asleep right on top of me. Stuck. Any wrong movement and I would have woken the monster!
The jet lag was pretty rough. It took Ryder about a week to really get on SA time. There is a 9 hour difference between SA and AZ so the only benefit was when Ryder did wake up at 3, 4, 5, or 6am Reese was awake and happy to facetime with us! Did you ever see more excited boys?
One of the many food stops we had to make was Mug & Bean. Best chicken and mayo sandwich.
After lunch we went to Spur so the kids could play in the kids area. This was the start of my experience with child minders... Oh how I love them.
Sweet little Emlynn.
The sweetest face and best gummy smile!
Amber was NOT having it!
The crazy little monkey:
Ryder going down the slide...
Dessert at Spur... Cream Soda Float! (add another kg just looking at this)
Mad he couldn't climb up the slide.
The face of jet-lag.
Attack of the crazy.
This is probably my favourite picture of all time. Ryder loves his nana. Every morning he'd wake up going "nana? nana?" and then we'd have to head over to her flat and destroy her house.
Another Benoni street.
Ryder showing Amber is belly button. Some interesting stuff right there.
There cuteness kills me (insert annoying mom thought).
We spent a few hours at one of my favourite childhood places. The bunny park in Benoni. A park full of bunnies and other animals plus fun kids jungle gyms and swings.
We gave the kids carrots to give the bunnies. They mostly tried to eat the carrots they were supposed to feed to the bunnies.
Case in point:
Ryder's future wife, Kezia.
And in true boy form, Ryder saw mud and SPRINTED to it.
Emlynn's new favourite trick. "Hooray!!!!"
Princey in the yard.
Being chased after by his Uncle Ryan.
Swimming at the Holmes's house.
The 3 Musketeers.
Getting ready to head to Durban to see Aunty Kirsten and Dallin.
Some snap shots of Johannesburg
Excitedly waiting for Aunty Sandie at her work.
Little Spidey man.
Running and singing.
Playing with Uncle Stuart
And the woman we had all been waiting for....
YAY!
This is the original iphone picture I took as we drove to Durban.
Then I lightened it up and this was the result... So beautiful! I love Africa!
Ryder and Dallin meet for the first time.
Ryder telling the little sausage dog what he thinks about Durban.
Best buds! These two also played very nicely together.
Fun swimming time with my favourite people.
The million dollar view at the Van Zyl's.
Nana monitoring shared ipad play to her great-grandkids. That's a risky business, I tell you!
Back in Durban swimming...
More monitored electronic time.
Reese loves it when I clip his onesie on top of his pants.
Awake WAY too early.
So the reason we went to Durban (other to visit with some of my favourite people in the whole wide world) was to swim the Midmar Mile in Pietermaritzburg. It's apparently the world's largest open water swimming event. Did I train for it? Negative. Have I ever swam a mile in my life? Negatory. So needless to say it was going to be interesting. Reese bet me $100 I wouldn't be able to finish it. Lets just say I have some new Lululemon clothes to prove that I actually did... :)
Ryder fell asleep on the way there. And no, just like most places in the world other than the U.S., there is no chest straps for car seats.
Getting excited! I can't wait to swim this with Reese in 2015 ;)
My race gear.
The reason why Kirsten and I swam it! We were SO EXCITED to do it with you Aunty Sandie!
Ryder having more fun with Uncle Stuart. He was another one of Ryder's favourite people.
I love these two so much. Caps on, ready to SWIM!
We have no pictures during the swim but let me tell you it was difficult! It was quite windy and that made for pretty big waves in the dam. Once we started swimming all you saw was hands raised in the water asking to be pulled out. Every time you finished a stroke, a wave would pummel you in the face and push you to the left hand side of the dam. So instead of swimming straight across you swam in a semi-circle- way more than a mile. Needless to say, finishing was tough! It took us just over an hour to finish. When we had finished they went on the intercom and told swimmers they were not allowed to swim anymore if they were younger than 14 years old and if they weren't sure they couldn't finish the race in less than 45 minutes the conditions were so bad.
Anyways, long story short I finished! And I made Reese cough up the $$$ :)
Here I am at the finish line. Obviously I left my abs at home...
After midmar we over to (my dads side of the family) cousins who live near the dam. It was so wonderful to see my uncle Robert, Susara, Kirsten, Timm, Natasha, and Daphne. They made the most amazing lunch for us and were all so welcoming and LOVED on Ryder so much. It just made my heart so full to have such a wonderful family. Next time we are there plan on us staying for a whole week, Kusels!
Kirsten loving Ryder.
The marvelous spread!
Ryder being spoiled!
My favourites :)
Timm and Princey.
Even though our time was short, it was still the best!
Big time loving.
Even though Gareth spent most of my holiday time with them working (rude haha), he still made time to play with the boys! Ryder was definitely missing his dada so I was so grateful for cousins/uncles/friends who stepped in for "guy time" with Princey.
Dallin being a little ham.
A big baby in a tiny car...
Nap times are the best time.
The clown.
Ryder giving one of the sausage dogs the stink eye before church.
Our handsome guys ready for church!
My cousin Kirsten is seriously the most organised, creative nursery leaders I have ever seen. She had delicious snacks for the kids, themed crafts, and a lesson. She is the best.
Ryder about to eat the play dough.
Nursery is just way too much fun. Pants came off and everything.
This is hands down the cutest/creepiest/funniest pictures I have ever taken.
Uncle Gareth is so fun!
We went out to breakfast one morning. The adults ate breakfast while the kids did this....
Thank you, child minder.
Bath time boys.
We spent a day at Ushaka and the beach.
The prince of Hillcrest.
Making progress with the dogs. One finger touching.
Run away child.
Very VERY unsure of this puppy.
Drinking all of my guava juice. Little thief!
Dallin has the best dimples. Seriously the biggest ham.
We ate breakfast at the club and watched the horses practice and get trained for their races.
Ryder pretending to be a horsey.
It was a good morning!
After that we went back to Ushaka to play at their splash pad and play area. The boys had the best time fighting over toys and water. :)
This definitely happened. It makes me sad to not see Milky lanes on every corner though, SA... Although that was probably good for my behind, I am still disappointed!
I don't think anything could top a treat like this!
Most morning I look like this. I sent this to Reese so he could miss me more...
Very comfy sleeping position.
He didn't care a wink he was drinking all my juice.
South Africa I adore you.
Doesn't get cuter than that!
Or this!
Actually that is the cutest thing ever...
They were doing some free gardening for Shannon...
My favourite Gran
Driving with my backseat buddies.
Child minder bliss while we enjoyed sushi.
I had forgotten how nice it was to just sit in your car and not have to put in your own petrol or anything... the high life for sure.
Halfway pit stop from Durban back to Benoni.
Definitely ate my weight in biltong. I am surprised I didn't have a heart attack with the amount of red meat I ate.
Ryder got to meet one of my best friends, Kymberly! It was so wonderful to see her. Now I am still waiting on a certain invitation so I can have an excuse to go back to SA... ;)
My little solider marching through Harrismith
Why sleep when you can giggle and take selfies?
More comfy sleeping positions.
The fatter the face, the better.
We were SO HAPPY when one morning we woke up to Lauren and Erin-May in town from Cape Town. They came especially to see us and it was just so nice to spend time with them. Erin-May is the cutest, blondest, smartest little girl!
This is what most of our days looked like. Perfect, if you ask me.
There is this cute brunch place down the street called The Parks. We had lunch there a few times so the kids could play.
My best friends
Emlynn doing some downward dog
Yoga teacher Ryder making sure she's doing it right.
Soooo refreshing.
The stealer of dummies.
Outside, free of clothes. I am actually shocked he still had his nappy on.
Bath time.
My old house on Honiball Street.
Bubbles with Aunty Sandie
23 Honiball Street, Rynfield Benoni
More bubbles.
and biltong.
and (dried) boerewors.
and milktart. (see why i gained 10 pounds?)
Dallin.
Dallin and Amber. Best frenemies. :)
Amber.
More green. Once I downloaded all the pictures I took in SA, half of them landed up being of the green scenery. Needless to say I was a bit obsessed with it!
Erin-May in her cute blue dress.
Future Ernie Els
These cousins just loved their baths...
He wasn't to thrilled to be sharing Ambers pram with her....
Red faced because I dressed him way to hot for a hot hot Sunday post church.
Reading with Ruby
We spent one day out in Johannesburg visiting the Temple and then the Zoo.
One of my favourite Temples.
Emlynn's face is a preface for what happened next...
Oh boy. Sorry Emlynn.
Trying to get all the kids lined up for a photo. Lots of bribing and singing went into this.
The Zoo! It landed up being such a hot day that most of the animals were actually hiding. It was fun but I am happy to say that the Johannesburg Zoo has all the animals the Phoenix Zoo has... :)
Can't get enough of a potty trainer in her panties!
The money shot... don't ask me how we got it!
Messing around with Aunty Sandie.
Ryder and I were lucky during our stay to go spend a night with one of my moms oldest friends, Debbie. I got to see the whole family and meet Debbie's fiancé, Sean. We had the greatest time catching up and making sure Ryder didn't drown in the pool. He had no fear at all.
Sadie was very unsure of Ryder.... He was a "baby" after all :)
He was fearless in Debbie's pool. In fact he kept giving me little heart attacks. Ryder thought it was hilarious to just jump in and practically drown, just to be pulled out and do it all over again. This child...
Ok, so my cousin Kirsten introduced me to John Dory's, a sushi restaurant, and I think we went about 4 times in the month I was there. SO FLIPPING GOOD... especially on Wednesdays when sushi is half off.
Um, yes. Weird South African (?) style sushi with mayo on it. Don't ask. Just eat it. It is delicious!
Could. not. control. excitement.
We also got a Ferrero Rocher milkshake to share. When drinking something that contains at least 1500 calories, one must share. Now you see (again) why I left my ab's at home.
One of the many squatter camps on the side of the highway.
Picture of Ryder cooperating:
I just love this picture!
Ruby had sent this to me while I was there... Amber went into Emlynn's room sometime in the night. How sweet is that?
South African humour.
3 under 3 in a trolley.
South African's are smart. Take note USA... Baby shower baskets. You go to the baby shop, find your pregnant person's box, pick something out of it, then go and pay for it. Genius!
Ryder pretending he can actually afford a car like that...
What he can really afford... ;)
Sweet little Erin-May.
He loves his h2o!
Being totally safe:
Heaven on a plate. Koeksisters.
Ryder harassing Bruno while he tries to sleep.
Ryder harassing Gran while she tries to do stuff on her phone.
My trip coming to an end... :( and trying to see if I can fit Emlynn in my suitcase!
Summer rainstorm.
We had one last family dinner at a restaurant called Fahrenheit in Benoni. Good food with great people!
I got the feta and pepperdew filet mignon that was pretty spectacular.
Reese's favourite South African drink is cola tonic and lemonade so I had to have one for him!
Ryder loving on Uncle Dyllan!
Trying to keep the boys awake on our ride home!
Monkeys!
(almost) All my favourite people in one place!
Beep, beep. Uncle Gareth being an awesome Uncle as usual.
More playtime pictures at the Parks cafe.
Uncle Darryl and Squishels ;)
Ruby, the braai master!
Amber, the gardner.
Bath time babes.
Playing at Aunty Rosie and Lauren's.
Fighting sleep.
Loved every minute outside! Pushing around the prams.
Ryder helping Amber with her panties... ha ha!
Vuvuzela.
Best buds!
Dallin trying to escape!
Enjoying a South African pancake!
Cutest little face!
And the best toy award...
goes to that little red sand bucket.
Two naughty little boys playing where they shouldn't be!
The trip home was fairly uneventful if you don't count being stuck on the tarmac for 5 hours in Johannesburg without the aircon in the middle of summer on a completely full flight WITH a baby. Finally being let off the flight at 2am in the morning to have to go back through passport control, collect my 5 massive pieces of luggage, and being pushed around by 300 other passengers to get on a shuttles. Waiting outside the airport for said shuttles with a dozen armed guards with machine guns patrolling the area. Not having a working phone and hoping that my sleeping family somehow gets my message of what hotel they are taking us to. Finally getting on and to the hotel and then picked up by my amazing Aunty Sandie at 4am in the morning. And then repeating the whole security/airport routine the next night and finally taking off and getting this little boy to sleep in one of the tiny airplane cots. The only plus was spending an extra 12 hours with my best friends and family.
Ryder and I met the cutest, sweetest family while on the flight home. That was a bonus too! :) We got to sit next to them and chat. They had a cute little boy a few months younger than Ryder so it was wonderful sitting next to people who understood what it means to go on international flights with a baby. The McNicholl's run the most inspiring little shop. You can check it out here.
Our trip home continued to be "fun" with an 8-hour layover in Heathrow. Lucky for us we got to spend 6 of those hours in the fancy executive lounge because of the delay the day before.
A tired little Prince.
And true to British Airways form, we were delayed once again. Princey was not impressed.
Once we finally go on the flight from London to Phoenix, Ryder decided the first few hours of the 11 hour flight was best spent running up and down the isles with his new BA backpack. Fun times for mom.
Every parents dream. A sleeping baby on a long flight! Hallelujah. We got lucky on that particular flight and had a whole 4 seats to ourselves.
Jet-lag is the only thing that can make a baby (at least MY baby) fall asleep (on a couch nonetheless) without nursing.
A dada and a princey reunited and loving every second!
We loved every second of our time in South Africa and are counting down (and holding thumbs) for our next trip!
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